What animal fun! The VOLVO Zoo Run celebrated its tenth birthday at the weekend – and more than 5,000 sports enthusiasts joined in the celebrations. They experienced exciting courses past the animals and several premieres. On the occasion of the anniversary, the organizers of the „Berlin läuft!“ series were also able to report a record number of participants – for the first time, more than 1,100 children and young people started in the junior races, which were offered on Saturday and Sunday in the zoo in Berlin-Friedrichsfelde. The highlight at the finish line: the glittering medals with a cheetah motif.
New to the program was the Berlin-Brandenburg Road Championship over five kilometers. Fabian Clarkson (SCC Berlin; 14:49 minutes) crossed the zoo fastest. In the women’s race, his club colleague Katja Fischer (18:01 minutes) secured the championship title. Over the ten-kilometer distance, the focus was on Deborah „Debbie“ Schöneborn, who had impressed with the marathon team at the European Championships in Munich. The 28-year-old athlete from LG Nord Berlin won her „training run“ in 35:22 minutes.
Race director Martin Seeber: „It was just great to see how much fun the small and big, young and old starters* had in the zoo in Friedrichsfelde. We are especially pleased that the extended offer of the children’s races has been so well received. The focus will also be on young people in our other runs.“ The „Berlin läuft!“ series continues on October 16 with the „degewo Great 10K.“
